Linbh a Athrú
by Yemi Hikari
Summary: - After the war, the Malfoy family finds life spiraling. However, what happens when Lucius somehow magically regresses back into a toddler? Prolog AU
1. Depression

_Disclaimer – I don't own Harry Potter. This fanfic is going to hint at and possibly be Draco/Hermione and it is going to be AU/AR to Rowlings epilog._

**Linbh a Athrú  
Depression**

The war ended. In other words, something that his young mind had constantly had problems fathoming, suddenly ended abruptly, before he could really figure out everything that happened around him. Because of this abrupt end, he couldn't help but still try and figure out in his young mind what had always bothered him so much.

The dark recesses of the Malfoy Manor were a complete mess. On one side, there was the chandelier that Dobby happened to have broken, still scattered across the front entry way. There was also a slight build up of dust when the family came home. The biggest mess though lay in their own lives, something that could not easily be fixed.

Lucius headed off to his own study. He had things to do after all of this, which included insuring the family reputation, insuring that the Malfoy family held a dominance in not just the Wizarding society, but the Pureblood society as well. He had dealt with repercussions of the previous war long before, however, he knew that this time around, he would have a harder time. There was no claiming that he was under a spell this time.

Narcissa herself wandered back and forth, fretting over some of the smallest things, even if they particularly weren't something that needed to be fretted over. Yet, despite this, she didn't give any commands to the House-Elves to effectively clean up the mess that was around her. Instead, she paced outside her sons room.

Which was where Draco had subsequently locked himself up. For two weeks after losing the war, he remained in his room, not speaking to anyone. The food that the House-Elves brought was barely touched, much to his mother's dismay. From what they told her, he simply lay on his bed, staring up at the green canopy.

After two weeks of this, she decided that it was time to take some drastic measures into hand. She found her self pacing in a new place, the parlor where guests flu powdered into. She waited patently, suddenly seeing a flash of light, then a rather handsome young man stepping out. He reached out and brandished a kiss on her hand.

"How are you this afternoon, Mrs. Narcissa Black-Malfoy," the dark skinned male swooned. "My companion shall be here shortly."

There was another poof, and a rather bulky young man stepped through. He happened to not have the most pleasant of faces, yet not to the point of ugliness. As he stepped, he slightly stumbled, not to mention his clothing seemed to attract soot to his suit. He made no response to her, however... her gladly took the seat she indicated for each of the young males.

"What seems to be the problem that you wished for us to help with?" Blaise Zabini chortled out, using his charm to calm the pale blond haired woman.

"It's Draco. He hasn't moved from his room ever since the battle at Hogwarts," the woman stated. "Lucius was never like this..."

"I would say this has to do with the fact that Draco Malfoy is more of a Black, then he has ever been a Malfoy," the young man commented, crossing his legs pleasantly. Narcissa opened her mouth only to have him hold up a finger.

He continued, a smirk on his smooth face."Yes, you have a sister who was heavier into the dark arts then Professor Snape or your husband combined. Yet... we can chock that up to her being insane and not right of mind since birth. Plus, we must take into factor that he has taken more after his beautiful mother, then his father."

"Zabini is flirting with Malfoy's mother," the other young man stated firmly, a laugh coming out of his mouth, not to mention a snort.

"Mr. Crabbe. I completely understand that Mr. Zabini has turned on the charm here. However, he and I know that I won't be falling for it. There is a major difference between when he tries to woo a girl to receive a sexual favor, and when he is wooing them to simply be polite and set himself in good standing."

At that, Blaise's lips suddenly set tight and his cheeks flushed. He stated rather dully. "Why... thank you Mrs. Malfoy..."

"I know you inherited it from your mother. She could have found that one someone, and she still deserved too, yet she prefers too..." Narcissa paused, closing her eyes. "I apologize. That was out of place, and I highly expect you to say something to your mother about that. You are her son, and I know if Draco did what you did, I would worry."

"Yes... but if Draco did what I _do _or supposidly _do_," Blaise commented, "...you wouldn't have called us here to talk to him, would you have?"

"No... possibly only you," the female stated, her hands coming to rest in her lap. "I need you two to talk to him."

"Why?" Crabbe snorted, his tone turning dark.

"Because you two are friends of his from Hogwarts," the mother stated firmly.

Crabbe's face twisted up in anger, only to have Blaise hold up his hand. "I speak for myself when I say, Draco and I were never friends. Mr. Crabbe here certainly thought Draco was his friend, but truth of the matter was, he simply used him and Goyal. Then again, I doubt Draco _knows _what it means to have a relationship with anyone, be it friendship, romance, family."

"You two are the closest thing he _has _to friends." Mrs. Malfoy sighed, then suddenly smirk. "Plus, I know your mother raised you to be no ones friend, but everyone's ally. Truth of the matter, despite acting Pureblood, you prefer to remain neutral on things, unless it is for your best interest."

"Well, that is a good question. How would this be in the best interest of myself... or Crabbe for that matter?" the young man stated.

"How about I _not _tell your mother what you've been up too," the woman smirked.

"But I haven't been up too anything, and you know that." However, realization dawned on his face. "You would _lie _to her?"

"Well, don't you think that she would believe her old friend about her son?" Narcissa stated firmly. "My son may not understand how to treat people right, even his friends, but I do know, he knows he considers you both friends."

"We're not..." Blaise closed his eyes.

"Explain why it is that you know my son better then anyone else Zabini? I know you were the one person who ever told him off in Slytherin. Despite the fact that he never listened to you." Narcissa gave the young man a smile, turning on her own charm.

"Hah hah!" Crabbe started laughing. "Malfoy only ever listened to his parents or the Mudblood."

"What?" Narcissa raised an eyebrow suddenly, a lot of shock written all over her face. "I thought Pansy had him under her thumb?"

"He had her under his thumb, which let her put everyone else under hers," Blaise let out a sigh. "He also listened to Snape and Moody."

"But _she _was the only _girl _he's ever listened to?" There was a sour look appearing on her face.

"Why don't we go and talk to Draco," the young man stated, grabbing Crabbe and dragging him down the hall to where he knew the young Malfoy's room would be. The first thing he did was tap his knuckles on the door, receiving no response from inside. At that, the dark skinned youth pulled out his wand, aiming it at the door knob, muttering something.

At that, there was a loud bang, not to mention the doors clattered open. The two stepped into the room in time to notice a rather unamused Draco suddenly sitting up and glaring at them, bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. "What the hell are you two doing? The war is over, not to mention the fact that I _know _I messed up multitudes of times is a mute point! My father will have you for destruction of property!"

"He doesn't scare me," Blaise stated, though Crabbe shrunk back a bit. "I think your mother will _completely _understand, as she's the one who asked us to intervene on your behalf."

"I don't need..." However, the blond haired boy paused, suddenly looking Vincent right in the face. "Do you... do you have nightmares... about that?"

"Nightmares..." Crabbe let out a chuckle. "About what?"

"About _him _dying..." Draco stated, suddenly staring at the foot of his bed. When he received no response, except for Crabbe giving a confused look that only the other male in the room could see, he continued. "Do you haven nightmares about Goyal dying?"

"Why? It wasn't my fault he did," Crabbe chortled rather darkly.

"I know... I'm at fault. I should have done something." The young Malfoy continued to stare forward.

"From what I heard, it wasn't your fault. You tried stopping him from using a spell he didn't really know how to use. Both of you here are certainly lucky to be alive," the one boy moved over to sit in a chair by the cold fire. He took his wand and lit the logs. "Malfoy, is that why you've hold yourself up, because you _can't _sleep."

"It isn't that I just can't sleep. I can't stop thinking about things. I still remember those... them... sitting with each other. Despite all that happened, they could have a smile on their faces. We just sat there and were completely unwelcome. The only reason they didn't say anything was because they were being polite and attempting to prove that they were superior."

"I thought the Mudblood with the Blood Traitor was funny," Crabbe laughed suddenly.

Draco's face, which had a look of dullness, suddenly flared up with life. He grabbed a vase that was next to his bed and flung it against the wall in anger. "Those _two_! They made me the most _sick _to my stomach!"

Blaise simply glanced at the wall, then flicked his wand, repairing the damage to the vase and surrounding area. Crabbe though seemed to pick up on Draco's words and said something. "I know! They all acted like they are superior, when it is us Purebloods that are superior."

"That's a lie..." came the rather shocking reply. "If we really are superior, why did we lose?"

"Dad says it is because Voldemort was really a Half-Blood, not a Pureblood." The one young man stated firmly.

"Then _why _were we following him in the first place?" The irritation in his voice kept growing.

Blaise simply stood up, brushing off his pants. "Draco, if you don't want to believe in Pureblood Supremacy... don't."

"But..." Vincent had a rather shocked look on his face as he glanced rapidly back and forth.

"I doubt he ever did. I think he was just following along with what his father taught him," Blaise stated firmly. This caused the young Malfoy to gulp suddenly. "Tell him what you think for once Malfoy. If he kicks you out, come stay with my mum and me."

"Aren't you a Pureblood fanatic Zabini?" Draco asked quickly, his whole body limp.

"I am what I want to be, simply because I haven't a clue who my father is." The male let out a stark laugh.

"Wait... I thought your mum married wizards," Vincent had a rather funny face.

"Really? Well, I knew that myself. However, how am I too know if one of her _seven _husbands was _really _my father? I do know that if she had an affair, it wasn't with your father Crabbe," Blaise chortled, a broad grin on his face, not to mention an evil grin.

"Of course. Dad would never cheat on my mum!" the other young man responded.

"That wasn't how I know." The last statement caused a short, half laugh to come from Draco Malfoy. The Zabini turned towards him. "I'll be here in a few days to check on you. My mum would have my skin if I treated any female with disrespect."

"So... should I tell her that you said something rude about the Weasel?" Draco suddenly chortled. "I know it was some time ago, but I do remember Pansy saying something about how you down talked the red head."

At that, Blaise turned fiercely pale. "_Don't _tell her that Malfoy. She might not skin me alive, but she would lecture me about treating females decently. Something _your _mother taught you, but you never were able to get."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Draco stated, only to have the other young man shrug his shoulders and leave, closely followed by Crabbe. He found himself alone once again.

_Author's note - 'Linbh a athrú' is Irish for 'baby changing. This fanfic is written for a prompt suggested by samanthaluv11 over on LJ. The prompt was "a fic with Lucius de-aged. Maybe like a death eater reform plan or something where he has to change his mind about muggles or something like that? [samanthaluv11] would also like if it had corporal punishment or parental discipline."_

_On side notes, I am hosting a Halloween contest for 2010 open to any fandom. See my profile for a link for more details. Not sure when I'll be updating, as I've quite a few projects, including the contest going on, so please be patient. But... I seriously need something other then just Bleach to write about. At least a quarter of them are Bleach. :)_


	2. Roughness

**Linbh a Athr****ú  
**_**Roughness**_

Hermione's feet crunched on the gravel drive way of the path up to The Barrow. Her arms were full of paper bags that were filled to the brim with groceries. The door to the place was open at the top and with a quick nudge she was able to push the door open. She then headed into the place and set the bags down onto the table and looked around to see if anyone was there. The only thing that could be seen was the plates washing themselves in the sink.

She then moved to put the perishables into the fridge and sorted the rest onto the table. She then headed to the den area near the kitchen and looked up at the clock to see that Mr. Weasley and Ron were in fact away at work, while Mrs. Weasley and George were definitely in the house. The other boy's now had their own lives and she didn't expect them to be coming back to the house, but she had told Ron to specifically come by tonight.

She folded her arms, continuing to look at the clock and the fact that George's pointed to the house. She then headed out to the garden, figuring that Mrs. Weasley would still be there. Sure enough, the woman was working in the garden pulling up weeds. "Mrs. Weasley... has George been out of his room?"

Mrs. Weasley looked up at the young girl. "Hermione... you can go ahead and call me mother, or ma if you want. Even if you weren't dating Ron you could call me that. I'm surprised to see you."

"I'd planned on surprising you. Ron knows to meet me here this afternoon. You still haven't answered my question."

"George hasn't been out of his room. Fred's death was hard on him. He hasn't been wanting to see anyone."

"Well... I think I'll pop up and let him know that I will be fixing dinner tonight. I have some good news."

Mrs. Weasley stopped short. "Hermione dear, you don't have to."

"I know that I don't. I'm doing it because I want to. It's my treat to all of you, including George." Hermione watched as the woman smiled at her and she then headed up the door, knocking on George's door. There came no answer and she knocked again. "George... it's Hermione."

There came a sound from the other side of the door and the occupant spoke up. "If you've spoken to mum, then you know that I'm not in the mood for speaking to anyone, let alone seeing anyone."

"I know that. I'm simply telling you that I'm making dinner to night. I plan on serving it around six o'clock." There came a period of silence from the other side of the door. The bushy haired female made the decision then to turn around and leave, only to hear George's voice on the other side of the door.

"I'll try to make it Hermione. Please don't be offended if I'm late or don't show."

Hermione's head darted up. "Oh, I won't be offended. If you don't show I'll be sure to save you a plate and bring it up for you."

She then headed down the stairs and began to get to work on preparing the food. Mrs. Weasley came in and watched as Hermione worked. "So... you're doing it the Muggle way?"

"Yes... it's how I was taught. Plus there is something fulfilling about doing something with one's own hands instead of magic." Hermione continued to work away while Mrs. Weasley sat at the table, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the quiet.

The woman finally let out a sigh. "I wish George would make noises up there. It would be nice for the shop to open back up. The twins always frustrated me, but in some ways they are the most successful of my boy's. I'm not saying that because they made money, but because they did something creative, something with their own hands. They also made names for themselves, something I never expected."

"Don't tell that to Ron." Hermione placed the meat into the cooking pan. "Ron tends to get rather jealous of his brother's and Ginny."

"What ever for?"

"Ron thinks that you kept having children until you got the girl that you wanted." The bushy haired female looked up at the woman to see a look of horror on her face. "Mrs. Weasley?"

"I..." The woman closed her eyes. "The reason we stopped having children was because Ginny and I almost died when she was born. If I had my way I would have had far more children. I love them, I honestly do. Even when they are grown up. I can't wait for Fluer to give me a grandchild. I don't care if it is a boy or a girl. I just want another little one to hold on my lap."

"I apologize for not being in any hurry to give you a grandchild." Hermione continued to stir the food. Looking up she saw a look of shock on Mrs. Weasley's face.

"Hermione..." The woman took a sigh. "Please... don't rush things with Ron."

"What is that supposed to mean."

"Take it at your own pace. That's all I have to say on that subject."

The sound of a clock continued to tick away as Hermione worked on the food. A popping sound was heard from outside and Mr. Weasley's voice could be heard from outside. "I'm home!" There came a pause at the door. "Ah! Hermione! It is good to see you."

"Hello Mr. Weasley. What time is it?" The bushy haired female smiled at the man.

"A quarter till six." The man watched as her mouth fell. "Something the matter."

"Nothing. Just that I told Ron to be here by six and he promised to be on time." Hermione continued working at the food and five minutes after six she found herself putting the dinner on the table. She sat down as the other two began to pass the food around the table, picking at what Mrs. Weasley put on her place. Half past seven she stood up to put food on a plate to take up to George, when Ron walked in. "You're late."

"It's not that big of a deal."

"Not that big of a deal?" Hermione found the plate she had prepared for George taken for her and her having to prepare another plate to put aside. She sat down, glaring at her boyfriend.

Mrs. Weasley looked around in worry. "Hermione... you said that you had some good news for us."

"Yes. I now have my own apartment."

"So we can move in together?" Ron perked up, not even lifting the food to his mouth.

"Of course not!"

"Why not? That is what everyone is doing."

"It is as inappropriate as having sex before marriage Ron."

"I've never asked for you to have sex before marriage. Ginny and Harry have moved in together and they don't have sex with each other."

Mrs. Weasley frowned. "You know... if Ginny and Harry are having sex with each other it really is none of our business. This is about _you_ and Hermione dear."

"Well... Ginny and Harry have moved in to Grimwald place together."

"Harry and Ginny didn't decide to get an apartment with each other because of some trend. They decided to move together because Ginny wanted to help Harry take care of Teddy and she wanted him to have a maternal bond with the boy. They have separate rooms from each other."

"Doesn't your place have more then one bedroom."

Hermione stood up, her chair pushing back. "It has three, but that is besides the point. I'm _not _ready for our relationship to move in that direction. Not when you messed up like you did today. You're still trying to prove that you're trustworthy."

"Exactly what is your problem? _What_ did I do wrong?"

"You were late!"

"I told you that it wasn't that big of a deal!"

Hermione narrowed her eyes, placing her hands on her hips. "It _was _that big of a deal Ronald Weasley!"

"To show up so you can announce something as trivial as that!"

"No you idiot! I made dinner for everyone and you _promised_ you would be on time!"

"On time! I ran into Neville and got talking to him! What is wrong with that? I mean..." Ron stopped short upon hearing the sound of steps on the stairs.

George then appeared, his hands in his pocket. There was scruff on his chin and his eyes were slightly glazed over. "Apologies for being late for dinner, but I heard an argument and figured I would come and figure out what is going on."

Ron's chin trembled. He then pointed his finger at his brother and glared at Hermione. "George was late! Why aren't you chewing him out?"

Hermione felt the heat rise in her cheeks and she took a deep breath. "The difference is that you promised to be on time. George said he would try to come to dinner, but was up front with me about possibly being late, if not coming at all. You are also my boyfriend, while he is not."

"Yes! Well I don't know why you are favoring him!"

The bushy young woman felt her eyes begin to water up and she opened her mouth to say something, only to find George's arm wrapped around his shoulder. "Break up with him."

"George!" Ron's face suddenly paled.

Hermione turned to look at George. "It's just an argument."

"Is it? All you two ever do is argue. You never agree on anything. On top of this Ron is an immature little brat who only ever thinks about himself."

The bushy haired young woman looked away, swallowing as she did so. Ron however was furious. "What? Are you trying to steal my girlfriend away from me? Do you want to date her?"

"Bloody hell no. I wouldn't want to date Hermione." This comment from George caused Hermione's stomach to churn and her throat to catch, only to relax with what he said next. "Dating Hermione would be like dating Ginny. This said, just like I can't stand for the idea of Ginny dating someone who isn't good enough for her and is a wrong match, I can't for Hermione either. You don't deserve her."

"Shut up George!"

George moved his arm away from Hermione's shoulder and crossed his arms. "You certainly don't _act_ like you deserve her. Do you really think that getting on Hermione's good side back during _that_ battle means you've won her? Girl's aren't trophies to be won Ron, they're people. They have feelings, they deserve our respect. So honestly, grow up."

"You have no right George!"

Mr. Weasley had been looking back and forth in confusion. Mrs. Weasley stood up then. "Hermione... can I speak to you for a second." The woman grabbed the girls arm and tugged her up the stairs while Hermione heard Ron and George still arguing. What they said wasn't heard. The older woman then turned to Hermione. "I've been avoiding saying this, but I don't want you and Ron dating."

Hermione took a deep breath. "Because I'm not good enough for him?"

Mrs. Weasley startled, then pulled Hermione into a hug. "No, no dear. You honestly would be good enough for any of my boys. Ron's the one who isn't right for you." She then pushed Hermione away. "Listen to me carefully here. You don't have to marry Ron, or even be with him to be a part of this family. I told you earlier that I didn't want you to rush things with Ron. He honestly needs more time to mature, but in reality I don't think you would ever be happy married to him. My son... I may have raised him, but even I've noticed how self centered he can be."

"This is what I've wanted since... well, as long as I can remember." Hermione looked at the ground, Mrs. Weasley's hands still on her shoulders.

"Not everyone gets to be with their childhood sweat hearts like Mr. Weasley and I." The bushy haired female looked up to see that the older woman was trying not to cry. "He and I... while we may not be interested in the same things, we aren't disinterested in the things the other is into. Can you say the same thing about you and Ron?"

"No... I can't." Hermione looked at the ground. "I know what I have to do." The bushy haired female walked down the stairs to the kitchen area, only to see that Mr. Weasley and George was there. She blinked a couple of times. "Where's Ron?"

George looked up from eating. "You're food is pretty good Hermione. Ron left because he didn't want to face you when you broke up with him." Hermione felt her body shake and the younger twin dropped the spoon to his dish. He then stood up and walked over and hugged her as she began to sob and shake. Eventually she stopped and he let go so she could sit down and cover her eyes with her hands.

"You know George... you really need to at least shower each day. You smell like sweat." Hermione spoke up, wiping her tears away.

"Well... if Fred was around I wouldn't have hugged you to comfort you. We would have been cracking jokes and gotten you cheered up real fast."

One hand wiped away at her eye. "I can't believe that Ron was a coward to not face me when I broke up with him. There was no guarantee that I would."

George stood up then and disappeared upstairs. He came back down with his owl. "She's in need of exercise beyond flying around The Barrow. Ron knew full well that he was in the wrong and he knew full well that you would be breaking up with him because there is no reason for you to stay with him. This said, taking off like that was still cowardly on his part."

"Since he can't be man enough to face you for a break up then he doesn't deserve it face to face." George looked over at his dad. "Are you all right dad?"

"I was hopping to have a Muggleborn in the family..."

"Hermione is family whether she marries in or not." Mrs. Weasley spoke up.

"Still. Ron's not a bad person. It seems rude to do it this way to him."

George sighed. "Look... I know my brother isn't a bad person despite his flaws. He's going to find ways to avoid the subject of you breaking up with him even when you face him face to face in an attempt to keep you tied to him. This is the best way to go about it."

"I wish it wasn't." Hermione started on the letter that was to tell Ron it was over while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley headed up the stairs. "I hope that he understands that despite the fact we're breaking up that I still want to be friends."

George continued to eat the food. "It will take time, but Ron will get over it"

The bushy haired female sighed, attaching the letter to the owl. "Now off you go."

The red head still at the table stood up and took his dishes to the sink. "If you don't mind, I'll be heading up stairs to go to bed."

Hermione stared at the wall. "George... if you need a break from The Barrow you can always come to my place. I know that I said I didn't want Ron moving in because I wasn't ready to move that way, but with you it is a bit different." She watched the red head pause and look at her, his eyes still glazed. "I mean, it would be no different then Ginny and Harry asking you to come and stay with them, right?"

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."


End file.
